China, Russia and other nations are exiting their dollar-denominated holdings in favor of gold. This action should put pressure on the dollar and U.S. treasuries, pushing not only central banks, but mainstream investors towards the safety of precious metals and other tangible assets that cannot be defaulted on. There will be a rush out of dollars and into assets with no counter-party risk, it is just a matter of how soon it happens.

If the U.S. national debt continues to grow then the U.S. dollar system will collapse in 2017 suggests a Russian lawmaker in submitting a bill to the country’s parliament that would ban the use or possession of the American currency.

Unknowingly, with QE Infinity, Bernanke has put in motion a runaway move in the stock market that will end in some kind of crash this summer. The crash will cause Bernanke to double down on QE which will trigger a spike in commodity prices. Let me explain my rationale.

China is buying up the world - big time! Take a look. It's all shown here in one map.

[Given the] big swings in enthusiasm for owning common stocks [we thought it timely to present] our opinion on the current temperature of the U.S. stock markets as to what's hot and what's not and the reasons why that is the case.

It's been an amazing run in the stock market but...I start to feel a bit uneasy about things when I see all news reported as good news, because it either means the economy is getting better or more QE is coming. The fact, though, is that the market is just driving higher on what looks like sheer optimism of continued QE and little else. You can see this optimism in two indicators you'll recognize.

Is the debt issue phony? It sure sounds like a lot, doesn't it? $17 trillion in federal government debt. Wow. It's a big, scary number, no doubt about it, ...and it's a lot bigger than in years past, but is it really that bad? Could it be that our debt profile has been grossly exaggerated? I think so. Let me explain why I think that is the case.

To what extent do residents of these 39 countries think their country's economy will improve or worsen by the spring of 2014? Take a look.

The trade deficit has improved a lot since 2010 and the U.S. dollar strengthened with it but I believe that is all about to change. Here's why.

The belief is that rising interest rates (as is currently occurring) are a sign that the economy is improving as activity is pushing borrowing rates higher. In turn, as investors, this bodes well for corporate profitability which supports the current valuations of stocks in the market. While this seems completely logical the question is whether, or not, this is really the case?